The crypto analyst said he was increasing his holding in bitcoin, particularly getting some for his parents.

The prediction is not unrelated to the upcoming bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) decisions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC announced a deadline for its decision on 9 bitcoin ETF applications before it.

In another tweet on the same day, Neuner explained that expectations for a bitcoin ETF was capable of lifting the bitcoin market drawing parallels with last year when a similar expectation for the first bitcoin futures contracts caused BTC price to surge to record highs.

He wrote:

“Last year, around this time, BTC went from $6691 (Nov 11) to $20000 (Dec 17) in 5 weeks. This on the back of the expectation and launch of a cash settlement BTC futures contract. An ETF is a way bigger deal & requires actual purchase of BTC.2 looming SEC decision deadlines ahead.”

As Smartereum reported last year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had confirmed in November that the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) could introduce bitcoin futures. One month later, CBOE introduced physically-settled bitcoin futures contracts closely followed by the CME a week later.

These events, many agree, was responsible for the surge in bitcoin price leading to historic high close to $20,000 towards the year-end.

The Other Side of Things

While Neuner and many other analysts are optimistic about the bitcoin ETFs, a decision against it may spell doom for cryptocurrency market which is yet to get out of the doldrums.

In August, bitcoin price fell about 10 percent after the SEC delayed decisions on bitcoin ETF submitted by SolidX through the CBOE. Just like now, the decision was highly anticipated at the time having garnered more than 1,300 comments on the proposed rule change, according to SEC assistant secretary Eduardo Aleman.

The staff of the commission has since rejected 9 bitcoin ETF proposals in one fell swoop. This decision was, however, flagged for review according to the guidelines of the commission. The commission has now set a November 5 deadline for the review of those decisions raising optimism among cryptocurrency enthusiasts once again.

The Importance of a Bitcoin ETF

Bitcoin proponents have good reason to be optimistic about the bitcoin ETF decisions. CBOE president, Chris Concannon assured that the SEC will at some point become “comfortable with an ETF” as the issues it has against the ETFs are addressed.

Many observers agree that an approved bitcoin ETF in the United States could strengthen the bitcoin and cryptocurrency market in general. It is expected to spur activity in the bitcoin space and could lead to a prices surge. Matthew Newton, an analyst at the investment platform eToro explained:

“A green light for the bitcoin ETF would fire the starting gun on a race among institutional investors to cash-in on this new product.”

Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.